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Coronavirus news – live: Inquiry promised in this parliamentary session, as Spain to let Britons in without test

Rory Sullivan and Liam James
·1-min read
(AFP via Getty Images)
(AFP via Getty Images)

The prime minister has vowed to launch an inquiry into the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic within the current parliamentary session.

Speaking after the Queen’s Speech earlier, Boris Johnson did not set a date for the inquiry, although parliamentary sessions normally last around one year. He had been under pressure for some time to say when a probe would be held.

Earlier, Spain said it will allow Britons to enter its territory without a PCR test from 20 May, provided that infection rates keep falling.

“They could come from May 20 onwards without a PCR if the incidence rates are below the range currently under review, which is around 50 cases per 100,000 people,” tourism minister Reyes Maroto said on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, English holidaymakers who are fully vaccinated will be able to use an NHS app from next week to prove their immunisation status, the government has promised.

The pledge comes less than a week before England’s ban on international travel is lifted on 17 May.

Health secretary Matt Hancock said the certification was necessary “not least to show governments of other countries that you’ve had the jab if they require that in order to arrive”.

Elsewhere, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that the coronavirus variant first detected in India last year is “of concern at a global level”.

Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on Covid-19, said on Monday that there is evidence to suggest it spreads more easily than some other forms of the disease.